Tool for closing wirebound boxes



J. H. GREENSTREET. TOOL FOR CLOSING WIREBOUND BOXES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26.1918. 1,422,965. atent d July 18, 1922.

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JASON H. S TREET, OF. INDIANAPOLIS, IN DIAN A;

TOOL 'FOR CLOSING. XVIRE-BOUND BOXES;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 18'; 1922.

Application filed December 26,1918. Serial No. 268,264;

In the production of so-called wirebound boxes, a series ofcleatedsides is connected together by binding wire, in such manner that, when the blank is folded into box form,

and contents placed therein, the binding.

wires may havetheir ends twisted together, in order to hold the c'overof the box in closed position. It is exceedingly desirable that the adjacent ends of the binding wires be twisted firmly together, both in order to place the package under" proper binding ten sion and also to prevent lateral slippage of the wires and consequent freedom of racking in transportation.

It has heretofore been customary, in closing packages of this kind, to grasp the crossedwires between the jaws of a pair'of hand pinchers, or p1iers,. and twist the same by repeated graspings and turnings. In practice, it has'been foundexceedingly difficult to train workmen to properly arrange the wires relative to the corner against which they are to be twisted and to grasp the same beyond the crossing point in such manner as to insure not only an. equal twisting'of each wire end upon the other, but also to insure a propertightening of the wire upon the corner. It has also been customary, after the wire ends have been twisted together, to cut the same comparatively short andthen turn the short twisted end downwardly against the package, parallel, or substantially parallel. with the main portion of the wire. Unless such operation is very carefully performed, the sharp, freshly-cut, twisted end becomes a menace to the persons handling the package and, if the downward bending is in the wrong direction, the effect is to loosen the wire upon the package, instead of tightening it.

The object of my present invention is to insure the rapid proper twisting of the crossed ends of the binding wires by a tool which may be readily rotated and producing a uniform twist of considerable length; and to then bend and drive the twisted end in such manner that it may be driven into the package, so as not onlv to thoroughly protect the end of the wire, but also so as to anchor the wire end in the package to prevent lateral displacement of the wire.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fragment of i crossed wire ends in position for twisting; F 1g; 2as1m1lar view to'ol;"Fig. 5 an axial section; Fig. 6a per spective of a slightly modified form of tool of a fragment of Fig. '7 a perspective view the box with the wire ends twistedtogether and distorted as a preliminary to the lockmg drive; Fig. 8 a similar view of the com pleted structure.

In the drawings, 10'i'ndicates package" embracedby a binding wire 11 which, at

intervals,is tacked thereto, and the ends of which are crossed upon each other at the.

open corner of the package.

. My improved tool comprisesa mainshank be received by any suitable turning tool, as, for instance, an ordinary hand bit-brace, a chuck for aotherwise, etc. At

12"formed at one end'to motor, flexible shaft, or the other end, shank'lQ' is providedwitha fiat end,,or face, 13 slotted diametrically by slot 14, the width of which equal to the diameter of wire 1.]; preferably V-shaped in side elevatiomsoas to provide, axially of the shank, a pressurefoot 15, which isadapted' toliebetween the crossed wires 11' and thus properly place them relative to each other and'to thecorner of the box. In order to provide for the increased effective thickness of the crossed wires, due to their crossing, I form, in opposite faces of opposite sides of the slot 14 angularly placed shallow grooves 16, 16, eapable of receiving wires 11 The grooves 16, 16 are so arranged as to emerge from face .13 diametrically opposite each other and, at their points of emergence, they are preferably slightly deeper than at their opposite ends, although this is not essential.

If desired, slot 14 may be used, instead of slot 14, its two portions being sufficiently offset, relative to each other, as shown in Fig. 6 to properly accommodate the crossed wires 11.

In operation, the package having been closed and wires 11 having been crossed upon each other, substantially at right angles to each other, my tool is applied so as to re;

a wire-bound box, with the U showingmy improved" tool in initial'operating position; Fig. 3 a perspective view of a convenient formiof'my' improved tool; Fig 4am endlelevation of the.

is substantially Slotl 14s is ceive the crossed wires 11 in slot 14-, said wires seating themselves in the grooves 16 and face 13 lying against the corner of the package. Thereupon, the tool will be rapidly rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, so as to twist each end of wire 11 over and around the companion end. The grooves 16 serve to retain the crossing wires in proper relative position, and there is suiiicient friction of the wires upon the faces of the slot 1% to cause proper tensioning and twisting of the two wires uniformly. The presser toot 15 acts to keep the wires closely associated and to cause them to tighten upon the corner of the package.

Grooves 16 are not absolutely essential, but I find that they tend to uniformity of product.

As the twisting proceeds, the twisting wires act against the presser foot to push the tool away from the package, and when the ends of the wire are reached, the twist has been completed.

Irrespective of whether the two ends have projected equally relative to the corner of the box, the operator is under no necessity of cutting the twisted wire end but, instead, he may, by the use of an ordinary pair of hand pliers, turn a short linger 20 at the twisted end and thereupon, this short finger may be conveniently inserted in the crack between adjacent. sheet portions 21 of the package and then driven into place by light blow, thereby anchoring the wire against lateral displacement and thoroughly protecting the end so that it cannot tear the hands or clothing of the person handling the package.

In order to make it possible for the tool to pass easily over the crossed wires in the twisting operation, the forward corner of each portion of the tool on each side of the slot is rounded as at 25.

In practice, it has been found that after several turns of the tool have been made and the wire correspondingly twisted together or essee?) wrapped about each other, a slight pressure in excess of that which has been used to keep the tool in place against the twisting wires, exerted longitudinally of the tool, while the tool is continued in rotation, serves to break off the untwisted ends of the two wires. l/Vith a little practice, the operator may thus readily control the length of the twisted portion of the two wires.

1 claim as my invention:

1. A tool for twisting together crossing wires embracing an article, comprising a rotatable shank transversely slotted across its end to receive a pair of: crossing wires by endwise application of the tool thereto, atransverse member being arranged at the base of the slot and formed. to lie between the crossing wires to engage them laterally at the crossing point.

2. A tool for twisting together crossing wires embracing an article, comprising a rotatable shank transversely slotted across its end by two meeting slots, the bases of which lie at an angle to each other to form an intermediate V-shaped slot base to transversely engage the wires at the crossing point.

3. A tool for twisting together crossing wires, comprising a single rotatable shank slotted substantially diametrically across its end to receive the crossing wires and grooved at opposite sides upon opposite faces with angularly placed shallow grooves, with a presser toot arranged across the slot be tween. said grooves.

i. A tool for twisting together crossing wires, comprising a single rotatable shank slotted substantially diametrically across its end to receive the crossing wires and grooved at opposite sides upon opposite faces with angularly placed shallow grooves.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 17th day of December, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and eighteen.

JASON H. GREENSTREET. 

